Carl Froch makes short work of Mack

‘A LEVEL ABOVE’:：The Englishman stopped the American with a right to the body and a left hook to the temple in the third, while Adrien Broner became the WBC champion

AFP, NOTTINGHAM, England

Mon, Nov 19, 2012 - Page 18

Carl Froch made a successful first defense of his IBF super-middleweight title with a third round knockout of Yusaf Mack in Nottingham, England, on Saturday.

The British champion is now expected to move on to a rematch with Canada-based Romanian Lucian Bute — whom he overpowered in five rounds to win the IBF belt in May — after another impressive demolition job in his home city.

Froch, 35, improved his professional record to 30 wins — 22 by stoppage — with two defeats on points by Mikkel Kessler, of Denmark, and Mack’s fellow American Andre Ward.

It was a one-sided contest that Froch, who is in his third stint as a world champion, looked destined to win on a stoppage right from the early moments.

The 32-year-old Mack could not hang in with Froch, who floored him in the first round and from then an early finish always seemed inevitable.

“I trained for 12 weeks to fight whoever and Yusaf Mack did not really have much of a chance,” Froch said of his rapid night’s work. “When I am in there on fire like I was tonight, I think I am unbeatable, I really do. I think I am a level above Mack, but anyone can give you a fight if you are not on your ‘A’ game and I made sure every time I step through that rope I turn up fully prepared.”

Mack stepped down a division to take on Froch and had to strip naked to make the weight limit on Friday.

The American, fighting outside of his homeland for the first time, found himself similarly exposed in the ring and seemed startled in the first round when confronted with a furious Froch onslaught.

Froch sent Mack sprawling from a left to the jaw and Mack, stopped by fellow American Tavoris Cloud in a shot at the world light-heavyweight title last year, looked in danger of being beaten inside the first round as Froch unloaded two successive rights.

The challenger was grateful to hear the bell, and Froch was not as dangerous in the second round, until he landed a heavy right toward the end that shook Mack.

Froch, the former WBC champion, piled on the pressure from early in the third round and Mack had no answer to the Englishman’s power.

The champion winded Mack with a right to the body, before following up with a left hook to the temple that left Mack bent over on his knees.

Mack, who appeared to be in agony from the body shot, failed to move as referee Phil Edwards counted him out with 30 seconds of the third round left.

BRONER VS DEMARCO

AP, ATLANTIC CITY, New Jersey

Adrien Broner stopped Antonio DeMarco in the eighth round to take the WBC lightweight championship on Saturday night at Boardwalk Hall.

Broner, 23, uncorked a left uppercut that thudded against DeMarco’s jaw and sent the 27-year-old Mexican to one knee. While Broner danced his way into a neutral corner, Esteves moved in to start counting.

DeMarco’s corner signaled him to stop the bout over DeMarco’s mild protest.

“I’m proud of DeMarco for fighting the way he fought, but Broner’s the total package. He could be the next Floyd [Mayweather, Jr],” DeMarco’s promoter Gary Shaw said.

VILORIA VS MARQUEZ

AFP, LOS ANGELES

Brian Viloria stopped Hernan Marquez in the 10th round on Saturday to add Marquez’s WBA flyweight world title to his own WBO belt.

Viloria, a Filipino-American, knocked down Marquez with a right late in round one and continued to dominate the early rounds.

Mexico’s Marquez came alive in the fifth, unleashing a battery of blows, but Viloria weathered the storm and sent Marquez to the canvas again.

When Viloria sent Marquez down a third time in the 10th with a left to the head, Marquez’s corner threw in the towel and the referee stopped the bout at 1:01 of the round.

Viloria, coming off a technical knockout victory over Mexico’s Omar Romero in the Philippines on May 13, stretched his winning streak to six fights since a defeat to Carlos Tamara in 2010.

He took his record to 32-3 with 19 wins inside the distance, while Marquez fell to 34-3 with 25 knockouts.